//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20 
// Story: A Bug on a Stick 
// by Orbiting Kettle 
//------------------------------//

A cart with a canvas cover held up in the middle like a roof passed them. Staves stood up all around from it, colorful ribbons bound to them fluttering in the breeze. Pots, bells, and little satchels hung on the staves below the ribbons, clattering grapes of metal and jute. The pony pulling the cart was just as colorful. A patchwork cape hung over her shoulders and a wide-brimmed, pointed hat covered in stitches sat on her head.

Luna stretched out over the side of their own cart filled with boring sacks of food to see better.

The mare that had just passed them stopped, stood straight and turned her head around. Her eyes met Luna's, and she smiled. She took her hat off, reached in with her hoof, and then, lightning fast, threw something up in the air. For an instant some colorful dust glittered in the sunlight, then, in a flash, flame caught it and drew a flower made out of flames.

Luna felt Chryssi and Tia press against her side and heard "Oooh," and "Aaah."

The mare laughed, right in tune with the bells of her cart, then turned to the road again and trotted off, her clattering home right behind her.

"Who was that?" Chryssi's voice was almost a whisper. Had been for a while, almost since they had arrived on the great road and started to see all the other ponies going to the festival.

"She was one from the Court of Laughter. You recognize them from the hats." Tia, on the other hoof, had problems keeping her voice down. "And that means there's gonna be some of the courtiers. Chryssi, they are awesome, you're gonna love them."

"Oooh." Chryssi was still looking after the mare when she suddenly sat straighter. "The hat? Does that mean that Starswirl comes from the Court of Laughter too?"

Luna reacted in the only appropriate way; with a deeply offended gasp. "Starswirl is not from the Court of Laughter! He is the greatest Mage ever!"

"You are both right, at least in some measure." Master Sottile trotted up to the side of the cart, smiling, his saddlebags full of scrolls bouncing on his sides. "He is a great mage, and he isn't part of the Court. But the hat is the same. He began to wear it because it showed the opinion he held about the magic schools he had visited. According to him, 'There's more knowledge and talent among that bunch of laughable foals than among those bloated morons that call themselves mages.' It was quite the scandal at the time, let me tell you. And now, well, I think he got attached to the hat."

"The magic schools are bad?" Tia glanced at the small trunk full of books lodged between a sack of flour and a barrel of fermented cider.

Master Sottile shook his head. "I wouldn't take Starswirl's dislike or harsh word on something as any indication about how good it is. While his compliments carry a lot of weight, his insults aren't worth more than a shrug. And although he is an admirable pony, that part is a rough edge that has and will continue to cause him grief. I would be very disappointed if you decided to imitate that specific trait of him."

Luna squinted. "But you said something like that too! Like, 'The arch-mages couldn't–'"

"Right, no, that was…" Master Sottile looked away and coughed in his hoof. "See, some ponies are vain or fearful and want to get important and intimidating titles to use them as a barrier against the world. And sometimes when I drink a bit too much spirits, I may say some less-than-kind things about those ponies. But that is quite a different situation, and it shouldn't dissuade you from looking for formal training if you desire to do so."

"But–"

"What is that?" Chryssi once again asked the question she had repeated so many times since the morning.

They had just cleared a curve on the road, and now the trees opened up, framing in the distance a queue of carts in front of a massive, open gate. Tall walls from which hung colorful banners ran left and right, and behind them, the tips of towers peeked out. Thick ropes with ribbons hanging from them anchored cloud-buildings to the ground, and little shapes zipped here and there between them. Further away a hill rose behind the walls, covered in buildings, atop which rose a large palace made of stone, light, and vapor, almost shining in the spring afternoon.

Master Sottile chuckled. "That, little one, is Everfree Haven, one of the largest cities of the Concord, home to twenty-thousand ponies."

Chryssi's mouth moved silently, and then she gasped. "So many? That's–It's–" She waved her hooves in the air and fluttered her white wings. "There are so many ponies?"

"There are many more in the other cities, towns, and all across the land." Master Sottile pulled out a scroll from his bags and floated it in front of his eyes. "And now that we are here it's the last chance to change your mind. Are you absolutely sure that you want to use the name Surprise for your pegasus form? After we reach the gates, we can't change it anymore."

Chryssi forced her eyes away from the city on the horizon and looked at Master Sottile, then over to Tia and Luna.

There was a clear question in her look, one Luna understood quite well, not only because Chryssi had become better at speaking without using words, but because doubt was a thing that Luna knew well herself. She didn't think her sister would get it, so Luna simply nodded.

With a smile, Chryssi turned again to Master Sottile. "Yes, I'm sure. And Meadowsweet and Millet like it too."

"We do!" Millet called from the front of the cart which he and Meadowsweet were pulling.

"Right, then so shall it be." The floating scroll rolled up again and flew to the other side of the cart, where Donna Copper Horn grabbed it and put it away in her own bags. "I can't deny it's appropriate in so many different ways."





There were ponies everywhere. Up, down, on every side, walking, talking, trading, fighting, joking, loving, hating, eating, napping, writing, drinking, crying, playing, building, dancing, singing, smelling, cooking–

It pressed down on Chryssi from all sides, it enveloped her, overwhelmed every sense, changed, crashed on her in waves, surprised her each and every moment.

She loved it.

In the overwhelming flood, she lost details here and there, with ponies doing something interesting jumping to her attention and then getting lost in the chaotic mass again.

It had begun once they had passed the gates in the walls, with dozens of carts and even more travelers coming through, with guards being bored and tense at the same time, and with foals being delighted either by arriving or by looking at those who came in. And then, with Millet and Meadowsweet pulling the cart along the great road cutting through the buildings, it had grown in intensity and variety.

The same colorful banners from the walls hung everywhere. Open workshops on the sides were filled with trade-ponies chatting and harking. Apprentices from the various guilds ran everywhere, the symbols of their membership, whether chains, medallions, capes, hoods, hats, or bags, polished and cleaned and displayed with tasty, tasty pride. Smells Chryssi had never smelled before rose from kitchens and carts and danced together in a wild, brilliant, delicious mess.

It was so much life, so much confusion, so much noise. It was wonderful.

"Almost there, little ones." Donna Copper Horn reached forward, grabbed, and moved a young stallion as he was about to run head first into her, his eyes focused on a mare on one of the balconies overlooking the street. "The House's granary is right there."

The building she pointed at was a massive, three-story high, hundred-length-wide block made of stone and with more banners hanging from the walls. Three gates, all open, on its front had a steady flow of carts large and small coming in full and leaving empty. Dozens of ponies at the windows of the second story leaned out and shouted orders, curses, and greetings at those below, often mixing all three together in a single sentence.

It was the biggest thing Chryssi had ever seen. "That…that's the House's granary?"

"Yes. Well, not all of it, obviously. Luna, explain."

Lulu, whose attention had been completely absorbed by something else–the acrobat doing cartwheels on stilts on the square on the side of the street, based on her emotions–shook her head and said, "What?"

Master Sottile chuckled. "You will have time later for the festival. Donna Copper Horn wants you to explain the granary to Chr–Surprise."

Lulu blinked. "Uhm, alright. The House's granary is in the Ascendant Warehouse. That's where all the granaries for the holdings east of Everfree Haven are. All the things that go to the city from the farms end here. And then the city-ponies with money don't die from hunger, and sometimes those without money get something to eat too. And all the ledgers are here before they get collected by the council."

"That is correct." Master Sottile sighed. "Even the part about poor ponies not getting much. We try to do better, though. We share a lot of our harvest to try and keep ponies from becoming hungry." He pushed through a gaggle of ponies arguing around a shop giving out herbal infusions. "Celestia, Surprise, you should think about what Luna said. Maybe sooner or later you will get a better idea about how to make it so that nobody, pony or other, has to be hungry."

Chryssi nodded. That sounded important and reasonable. Hunger was a bad thing she knew well, even if its bite had become less and less intense for her in time.

The road became a square in front of the Warehouse, lined on all sides with workshops and stalls. Carts came out empty from the gates and rolled to repair-ponies who dismantled wheels and fixed them.

"Couldn't we just share everything, as we do on the farm?" Tia kept her eyes on a mare as she dropped the balls of yarn she was juggling and drank from a mug while the ponies surrounding her laughed.

Master Sottile shook his head. "That would be ideal, I think, but we don't know yet how to do it. Sometimes simple is not simple at all." His horn alighted and a scroll floated out from his saddlebags. As the cart turned and got pulled towards the middle gate the scroll went to a stallion sitting on the side with a crate full of other papers, scrolls, pages, and clay tablets. "But maybe you will find a way to make it work, or maybe you will find something even better."

The gate was large enough to allow two carts to pass through it side by side. It towered over them and became like a cave as they entered it. The ceiling was a vault, and in the walls, there were open doors on both sides.

If the outside had seemed like a hive of activity, it became clear that it had nothing on what was going on inside. As they entered the internal court a wall of sound crashed down on them. Everywhere ponies were walking, carrying sacks, pulling small carts filled with amphoras, rolling barrels, balancing staves with clusters of dried fruits hanging from them.

If the noise was overwhelming, the sense of urgency was shocking. Chryssi had to clench her teeth to avoid fiddling and jumping around, suppressing the drive to do something, anything, an itch under her coat in places where she couldn't scratch it without doing the very thing she had been warned to never, ever do.

"Pickle, Honey, stop wasting time and come here!" Meadowsweet's voice somehow rung strong and clear over the chaos as Willowbark helped her get the yoke off. "Move and unload the cart, the Oaks and the Ryes should be here soon too, and I want to check their harvest for mildew–"

Donna Copper Horn grabbed Chryssi and lifted her out from the cart. She put Chryssi on her shoulder and said, "Come, little ones. Time to show you your room."

Lulu and Tia jumped out and darted to Donna Copper Horn's side. Ponies around them opened up as the minotaur walked on towards one of the larger doors of the inner court. Master Sottile trailed behind her, shouting a greeting or waving every now and then.

When they entered the building the noise was dampened, and the air became cooler in the half shade. They walked along a corridor with a floor made smooth by hooves, then climbed a ramp of stairs and stopped in front of a heavy wooden door with iron bands. Donna Copper Horn got a key from a satchel hanging from her belt and unlocked it. "Welcome to the city residence of House Sottile. Now let's get you cleaned up. It won't do to present you in front of the council all dusty from the road."





The Hall of Houses was an admirable effort to fuse together the way each tribe built their palaces. A cloud ceiling with currents drawing ever-changing patterns topped a solid stone and wooden room, with thick pillars holding up the sky, and, on the southern side, with shimmering light in the windows, each with a crystal floating in the center of it. Below the windows, seventeen richly embroidered pillows of many colors rested on the marble floor. In front of each pillow, there was a small stone cube with a knot made from three different colored threads hanging from it.

Admirable.

Also messy and disharmonious.

Where stone and cloud met and pushed against each other, lightning danced until it met the copper rods that had been a hasty addition later on. The windows and lights fought to break free of their confines ready to singe and overwhelm, and the air was filled with magical ebbs and flows forced out in channels on the walls and floor, cutting through delicate stonework and reliefs.

And yet it stood.

Sottile was sure he had not been the first to think that. He had had the same thoughts every time he had come in the Hall, no matter if to plead or if to deliberate. He respected many of his peers enough as to be sure they noticed too. It often added a certain tension to assemblies, and even notoriously loud members were known to keep it down a notch.

He often wondered if that had been the intention of the builders.

At his side, Chr–Surprise sneezed.

He knelt on his forelegs and asked, "Are you alright, Surprise?"

After a moment the filly leaned forward and whispered, "This place is weird. It has… It tastes weird and old and a lot of stuff happened and… I don't get it. It's full of flavors and they mix all together and there is a lot of ponies outside and they are waiting. Some of them don't like us and others don't like each other. Why don't they like me? I never met them."

"Well, I guess it's not you, it's me. Some of them don't like me." Sottile smiled. "It's normal, sometimes it happens. It's for those occasions that we have manners and civility. Now remember, you will not understand a lot of the things that will be said when those other ponies enter but don't worry, it's not something you are supposed to know. Be well-behaved, and answer only when somepony asks you something directly. The ponies we are going to meet are very important, and there is a specific way these things have to go. It will probably become pretty boring for you, but be strong and endure it. Do you remember everything we said?"

There was a moment of silence. Her ears turned left and right, her wings unfolded briefly, and then she stood taller, smiled and nodded. "Yes, Master Sottile. I remember. I'm Surprise."

"Very good." It had been a long day, and he had walked a lot. Sottile's back cracked as he stood up, and his knees ached for a moment, but he ignored it. No need to have Surprise worry about things that couldn't be changed. He closed his eyes and thought about a still pool. He didn't expect nasty surprises, but taking any reunion of the heads of the Houses lightly was an invitation to Fate to take an interest.

A door opened and he opened his eyes again.

From the side a procession of ponies entered in silence and walked along the wall to the pillows, each holding a long, thin stick in their mouth. They each sat down on a pillow and faced Sottile until just one place remained empty. Each wore their garb of office. The five unicorns had pectoral cuirasses made from gold or silver, the five pegasi ornate wing-guards, and the six earth ponies donned hats of exquisite, if extravagant, feature.

Miraculously Sottile managed, somehow, to notice that the ongoing spat between House Red Earth and House Ironstone had reached new heights and kept his neutral expression despite the addition of a mechanical clock to House Ironstone's headgear. He didn't dare to look at Surprise's reaction to it, but he hoped she wasn't too overt with it.

A pink unicorn mare with an intricate map of wrinkles telling the story of a long life stood up and brandished a red-topped stick. "Fate has decided that House Sapphire will preside over this council of Houses. I, Sapphire Heart, will hold the responsibility to do so, and herewith I declare my duty to abstain on this vote. Master Sottile, step forward and plead your case."

It was time. Sottile studied the assembly. More boredom than hostility. Good. He took a step forward and said, "During the Summer three years ago, an old friend of mine, Zaymaraa, a traveling Zebra scholar, came to my door with a young pegasus filly she had found in Salt Town, down in the Thousand Reigns. She was very young and my friend couldn't find her family despite her best efforts. It appeared that the filly was all alone in a place almost without ponies. She couldn't even fly, so my friend asked me to take care of her. We passed the next two years trying to understand where her next-of-kin could be, if there still were some, but couldn't find anypony. In the meanwhile the young filly bonded with the other two heirs of the House, becoming a member in all but name. It is for this reason that I, Favella Sottile, Master of Law and Wielder of Philosophy, Head of House Sottile, intend to rectify this last point, and welcome Surprise as a member of my House and my family with all the duties and the obligations that come with that."

A murmuring rose across the council, ebbing back and forth between ponies. Comments whispered to each other, half-told evaluations of the political impact, oblique references to unrelated things used to carry complex messages. It was the song of the political game, and while Sottile couldn't understand what his peers were saying, he could try to grasp the mood by listening to the melody.

Rare Scroll was the oldest unicorn on the council. A cantankerous stallion that made Sottile seem young, and whose continuous existence had given birth to rumors that even death itself had no desire to have anything to do with him. And yet his voice had a certain power, silencing the room. "Master Sottile, couldn't you sire a descendant like anypony else? Your bloodline will die with you, and in place you'll leave a bunch of peasants, bastards, orphans, and a dirty band of whatever else came knocking at your door! Your family is old, have some dignity and knock up a mare."

Lightning cracked against the stone as Swift Breeze opened her impressive wings and growled, "What, adopting a pegasus isn't good enough for you? You old fart, you hadn't anything to say when he adopted an earth pony and a unicorn."

"I did even then, and nopony listened. Frankly, I don't care if the brat is a pegasus or a rock with a mark painted on. I care that the youngster–" Rare Scroll pointed at Sottile "–does what neither Wendigos nor war had accomplished by ending House Sottile."

The wind began to whisper around Swift Breeze. "Ending the House? By adopting a pegasus? Why, you–"

"ENOUGH!" Sapphire Heart's shout pressed down on the ponies almost like a physical force. It took the columns of the hall a few heartbeats to stop ringing with resonant magic. "Grievances and protests will adhere to form, whether you like it or not. Do I have to remind you of the laws of the Concord and the rules of this council?" Her eyes flew over the assembled ponies. "No? Well, good. Then let us proceed. Master Sottile, we recognize your right to adopt ponies into your House as per tradition. Nonetheless, you continue to refuse to sire a blood-descendant even after you became the sole inheritor of your House. This is unusual and will have to be justified."

They had been lucky the first time. The question had hung in the air, but nopony had asked it. "I am, despite Honored Rare Scroll's protests to the contrary, old. It is probably too late for me to sire an inheritor, and even if I was a decade younger, I still have no wife. If I hadn't adopted Celestia and Luna as my scions and Meadowsweet and Millet as wards of House Sottile, then it would truly die with me. But our wise traditions allowed otherwise. House Sottile has a chance to live on."

"And you have done that." Master Pyrite leaned forward, his hat dangerously leaning backward. "And yet you decided to adopt another filly into your House."

Sottile nodded. "I did. Master Pyrite, how many ponies are in your House?"

The earth pony chewed for a moment. "House Ironstone is thirty-six strong if you don't count the wards." He grinned. "I see what you mean. House Red Earth counts fifteen. Maybe they should adopt some unicorns and pegasi too. Would make them useful."

Red Earth Acre snorted. "We are doing fine. House Ironstone, on the other hoof, could do with some fresh blood. Inbreeding is so–"

"I said enough!" Once again the hall reverberated with Sapphire Heart's voice. She looked at the two scowling earth ponies. "We are here to decide on the adoption. We shall talk about Red Earth's and Ironstone's claims, but not now. Your spat will have to wait for the council to be complete." She briefly glanced over to Sottile, just for an instant.

That was a pretty clear sign on where House Sapphire stood on the issue. And it was a message to him. Sapphire Heart wanted something, and if he had to guess it had to do with the Engravers’ guild’s legal control on the creation of light-crystals and with how House Sottile should vote on the issue.

Red Earth Acre and Master Pyrite had caught on too, apparently. They sat down, glared at each other, then Master Pyrite said, "I don't have further questions."

"I do, even if you spineless cowards don't." Rare Scroll snorted. "You can still sire a descendant. Your bloodline dying out… That's madness."

Sottile looked over the heads of the Houses. "I feel no joy in the idea of being the last of my line, but there really isn't much I can do. Fate laughs at the concerns of mortals, and it has seen fit for me that I may be the last of my blood. But I can still make sure that House Sottile will live on in the Concord. If you allow me to adopt Surprise, there will be one of each tribe holding the name. It will be my legacy, and what the Concord stands for."

Sapphire Heart nodded, then said, "Surprise, come forward."

For the first time since it had begun, Sottile dared to look down at his charge. Surprise stepped to his side and gulped. "Yes, Honorable Sapphire Heart?"

"Is everything Master Sottile said true? Do you truly don't know your family?"

Surprise nodded. "I don't know about any of them. I can't remember them, and I didn't even think I was a pony when I was found. And Master Sottile asked me lots and lots of questions and I know he even made griffins ask a lot of questions all around and far away and even they didn't know anything."

"Do you refuse to be adopted in House Sottile?"

"Uhm, no. I like Master Sottile and all the others. They care for me. And Lul– Luna and Celestia are my friends and–and I would like very much to be adopted into House Sottile."

"The council recognizes that there is no barrier on that front." Sapphire Heart turned her attention back to Sottile. "Now, back to the real question. Rare Scroll raised a valid point about the end of the bloodline. Even if the Council does not veto the adoption, this will remain an open issue. Master Sottile, what do you intend to do about it?"

Sottile reviewed briefly what he knew about the ongoing fights. There was a possible solution, but it would be a long sell. It wasn't Harmony, but at least it was equilibrium. "As I said, I am old and I doubt I could sire a foal, but if the council insists, I suppose I could marry into one of the other Houses. House Sottile would probably become practically part of it, which means it would join what it has with the House of my spouse. I would just have to decide which House it should be…"





The sun had set and the moon was well on its way, yet the city had only become louder and more alive.

Out on the street under Chryssi's window, dozens and dozens of ponies were drinking and eating and singing. Nopony was pulling carts around anymore, and the only ones working were those tending to barrels, to cauldrons, or to the embers on which vegetables were sizzling. Different songs rose from every corner, clashing, fighting, and then continuing on their own ways.

Joy and excitement were a thick, invisible fog covering the city, overwhelming everything. Anger, sadness, fear, despair, occasionally they peaked and Chryssi could get a short impression of them, but then they would get swept away again.

It was such a strange contrast with the council.

The door of the room flew open, pulling Chryssi out from her musings. Tia entered with a terracotta jar held afloat in her magic and with a honey-smeared grin on her face. "We are back. Chryssi, there is a zebra selling dried fruits from down south dipped in honey. We brought you some!"

"Ifs fefifios!" added Lulu, chewing and following Tia.

Walls didn't do much for the feeling washing over the city. Tia and Lulu did. They came into the room and suddenly the world became smaller, cozier, more focused. All the important things were right there, and the rest receded to the background, becoming flavor instead of being the whole soup. Chryssi hopped down from the stool and trotted over to Tia who was opening the lid of the jar. "Thank you."

A sticky-looking piece of citron floated up from the jar, a thin, golden thread still binding it to the rest. "I bet you'll like it. It's so sweet. Here…"

Chryssi bit down on the floating piece of fruit. The magic fizzled in her mouth for an instant, and then came the honey. It was sweet and spicy and new and there were mysterious things in there she hadn't tasted before.

"It's awesome, right?" Tia giggled. "So, how did the thing with the council go?"

Chryssi chewed and thought. Lulu sat down on their sides and used a pointed stick to fish out a glistening piece of dried peach.

"It was weird. Master Sottile was so different, and he didn't like it at all. And the ponies in there, it was like they were afraid and worried and angry and smug and a lot of other stuff all at the same time. And they talked a lot, and–" It wasn't easy to put her feelings into words. She had become better at it, better at understanding herself despite never have been able to taste herself. Still, she just had an intuition of what maybe was going on in her, and articulating that was hard. "I…There's a lot of things I don't get."

"That's normal. When we went in front of the council they talked a lot too and we didn't understand it, right Lulu?"

Lulu just nodded, a beatific smile on her face as she was chewing.

A nut floated up. "We got to study some of the things, though. You'll get there too. So, what didn't you get?" Tia looked at the nut, then snapped forward and ate it.

"So, there was a lot of fighting. like, really a lot. I thought they couldn't do that because you get the Judges to judge you if you do that." Chryssi licked her lips. Cinnamon, that was one of the things in the honey. Which was strange, because she thought Willowbark just used it when somebody was sick. It wasn't bad, though.

"Right, fighting. You can do that in the councils if you follow the rules. The Heads of the guilds can fight too when they are there, and the merchants, and the weather flocks. They fight there so they don't fight outside. Master Sottile told us that it was just like drinking laurel potion when things hurt. You can manage somehow, but it doesn't solve the problem." Tia looked over her shoulder, then leaned forward. "Millet says it's Wendigo bait so that if we are lucky they come and take the council all away and solve the problem."

Lulu gulped down and began fishing for new prey in the jar. "Meadowsweet hit him on the head with the ladle when he said that, so I think we shouldn't say that too loud. And Master Sottile is there too, I don't want him to get taken away to the ice-wastes."

"I don't think they would take Master Sottile." Chryssi leaned forward and spotted something that looked like a piece of lemon peel. She gestured Lulu to pass the stick and tried to spear it. "He didn't taste like he wanted to fight. The old unicorn was different. I think he liked it. And he also…" She pulled out her honey-covered catch, but suddenly she didn't feel much like eating it. "Tia, he said things like that I shouldn't become part of the House, and he believed it. He was very old and I think he knew a lot of things too. What if he is right?"

Tia and Lulu froze. They looked at each other in the eyes, then Tia pushed the jar to the side and grabbed Chryssi in a hug. "If you don't deserve to become part of the House, then I didn't deserve it and Lulu didn't either. You know? We had been part of the house for three years when I found you. I was adopted too."

"Me too." Lulu scooted forward and joined the hug. "My mom was a mare of the night. I don't remember much about her, but I know she was very strong. Still, I was often hungry and some other foals called me a bastard. And then one day she told me to go with Master Sottile."

"My mom and dad were earth-ponies, and I had, like, eight brothers. They worked in the fields, and I wasn't very useful there. Master Sottile came one morning and talked with them, and then I went away with him. He had already taken Lulu in by then."

"I kind of remember it." Lulu patted Chryssi on the head. "I wasn't hungry, but I was afraid that Tia would take it all away."

"And I was afraid that Lulu would be like my brothers and that I wouldn't be useful at all to Master Sottile." Tia chuckled. "We had no idea what we were going to do. It was all confusing. When we arrived on the Farm, Donna Copper Horn took us and made us take a bath, and then we started to learn to read and write."

"And then Master Sottile adopted us, and some cranky old unicorn said some mean stuff. But Master Sottile did it anyway."

"You see, Chryssi, you and us, we are kinda similar. More or less. If the cranky old unicorn could be right about you, then he would have been right about us too, and he wasn't. You deserve to be with us, and you're gonna be our sister, and nopony's gonna stop it.

Chryssi leaned back and looked Tia in the eyes. "Really?"

"Really." Tia patted her on the back. "Now let's finish the fruit. We got that, and that can't be wrong, ever."